When you stand in front of the pantry just looking, you never know what will hit you. I don't know why but a can of pineapple caught my attention.
'I haven't had Pineapple Upside down in a while. Let's do that.'
grabbed the can. but, it's so heavy. and, cakes are always domed in the middle and something so heavy will be even more so. hmmm
think think....thinkthinkthink...
Cast iron is good. a cold skillet will warm evenly and give me an even cake.
cast iron? well, let's amp it up a bit.... BACON! Everything is better with bacon! oooo, the pineapple caramel would be awesome with bacon grease!
the cake would be good with bacon, too!
back to, oh my goodness, dense. heavy, sickly sweet dense.
Chiffon cake. now that's light. but, it's Pineapple upside down, not chiffon.
why can't it be?
so.......
Canned sliced pineapple or fresh cored & sliced reserve juice
Maraschino cherries
3-4 TBSP bacon grease spread in cold cast iron skillet
1/3 cup light brown sugar spread into grease
Lay out pineapple slices & maraschino cherries
Sprinkle 1/3 cooked bacon over pineapple
Additional 2/3 cup light brown sugar sprinkled over pineapple layer
With 2-3 strips of parchment paper, line the outside of skillet, overlapping ends
DO THIS, the batter will overflow the skillet and rise above it
Preheat oven to 350
Place skillet with paper liners on baking sheet (just in case)
For batter:
2 cups AP flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp medium grain salt (smoked if you have it)
*** sift together dry ingredients into bowl ***
Separate 5 eggs set whites aside
Together in second bowl:
Egg yolks
½ cup water
1/3 cup reserved juice
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
½ cup bacon grease (make up shortfall with coconut oil or canola oil)
Remaining bacon bits
Sift dry ingredients together
Combine wet ingredients minus egg whites and break yolks, roughly mixing
Whip whites + 1 TBSP juice to stiff peaks
Combine wet & dry, mix until batter
Add in bacon bits and stir to distribute
Use approx ¼ of egg whites and stir well into batter to lighten the batter
In 2-3 steps, gently fold in remaining egg whites
Gently pour batter into skillet on top of sugar & fruit layer, gently holding parchment in place until batter will hold it.
Bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes until wooden skewer pushed all the way to the bottom comes out clean.
Remove and allow to cool 10-20 minutes.
It WILL deflate a little, that’s OK
Remover paper, run a knife around the sides to be sure it releases.
Lay upside down plate on cake & skillet
Quickly flip and let cake drop to plate
Loosen your belt and enjoy.
and, what did I get. not bad. needs more bacon. and more vanilla. but, other than that, everything worked precisely the way I planned it and it came out pretty nicely! I'll do THAT again.
'I haven't had Pineapple Upside down in a while. Let's do that.'
grabbed the can. but, it's so heavy. and, cakes are always domed in the middle and something so heavy will be even more so. hmmm
think think....thinkthinkthink...
Cast iron is good. a cold skillet will warm evenly and give me an even cake.
cast iron? well, let's amp it up a bit.... BACON! Everything is better with bacon! oooo, the pineapple caramel would be awesome with bacon grease!
the cake would be good with bacon, too!
back to, oh my goodness, dense. heavy, sickly sweet dense.
Chiffon cake. now that's light. but, it's Pineapple upside down, not chiffon.
why can't it be?
so.......
Canned sliced pineapple or fresh cored & sliced reserve juice
Maraschino cherries
3-4 TBSP bacon grease spread in cold cast iron skillet
1/3 cup light brown sugar spread into grease
Lay out pineapple slices & maraschino cherries
Sprinkle 1/3 cooked bacon over pineapple
Additional 2/3 cup light brown sugar sprinkled over pineapple layer
With 2-3 strips of parchment paper, line the outside of skillet, overlapping ends
DO THIS, the batter will overflow the skillet and rise above it
Preheat oven to 350
Place skillet with paper liners on baking sheet (just in case)
For batter:
2 cups AP flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp medium grain salt (smoked if you have it)
*** sift together dry ingredients into bowl ***
Separate 5 eggs set whites aside
Together in second bowl:
Egg yolks
½ cup water
1/3 cup reserved juice
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
½ cup bacon grease (make up shortfall with coconut oil or canola oil)
Remaining bacon bits
Sift dry ingredients together
Combine wet ingredients minus egg whites and break yolks, roughly mixing
Whip whites + 1 TBSP juice to stiff peaks
Combine wet & dry, mix until batter
Add in bacon bits and stir to distribute
Use approx ¼ of egg whites and stir well into batter to lighten the batter
In 2-3 steps, gently fold in remaining egg whites
Gently pour batter into skillet on top of sugar & fruit layer, gently holding parchment in place until batter will hold it.
Bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes until wooden skewer pushed all the way to the bottom comes out clean.
Remove and allow to cool 10-20 minutes.
It WILL deflate a little, that’s OK
Remover paper, run a knife around the sides to be sure it releases.
Lay upside down plate on cake & skillet
Quickly flip and let cake drop to plate
Loosen your belt and enjoy.
and, what did I get. not bad. needs more bacon. and more vanilla. but, other than that, everything worked precisely the way I planned it and it came out pretty nicely! I'll do THAT again.
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